ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the approaches to teacher training and continuing professional development and learning in five ‘high-performing nations’. The five ‘high-performing nations’ are: Finland, Hong Kong, Ontario, Shanghai, Singapore, and South Korea, as these are recognised as being very successful in international comparisons of educational achievement. The chapter discusses a number of key factors related to the literature on comparative educational systems and processes, which can be used to study issues associated with teacher education and continuing professional development. The key features that are briefly discussed are: system characteristics, including the centralisation and decentralisation of education policy; the status of teachers in society; the recruitment, selection and initial education of teachers; and the role of teachers in curriculum and pedagogical issues. The general agreement is that high scores in international assessments and achievement tests are largely the result of the high quality of teachers and teacher education and development.
